Oct. 18--LIMA -- The jet packs we were all promised as kids have yet to arrive. The family vacations to the moon aren't ready either.

When it comes to the way we move money, though, the prognosticators of the past fell short of predicting the changes we would see.

Few industries have kept pace with banking when it comes to the rapid-fire change in the ways business is done. Just 20 years ago, automated teller machines were the next big thing. Today, the ATM seems almost quaint in comparison to the online and mobile applications driving the next wave of banking.

"It's all changing quickly, and it's driven by technology. What we're seeing now, in terms of the number of electronic transactions, it's just exploding," said Dave Anderson, Lima regional president of the State Bank and Trust Company.

Last week, Anderson announced plans to close one of his bank's two Lima branches. The reason: the need for physical office space is on the decline as more and more customers do their banking from home computers.

The numbers back up Anderson's point. In January 2007, the State Bank processed 22,500 electronic transactions, including electronic transfers, Internet bill paying and other online commerce. In the past six months, that number was just under 600,000, or an average of 100,000 electronic transactions a month, more than four times that January 2007 number.

"It's all about convenience. Customers can utilize banks the way that works best for them. They don't need to come in to the bank anymore, and that's changing the way we do things," Anderson said.

The growth of electronic banking changed things on the national front as well. By the end of the first quarter of 2010, the Federal Reserve is slated to shut down all its check-processing centers except the one in Cleveland. In 2003, there were 45 processing stations around the country.

That move means the days when banks placed a 10-day hold on funds while the check was processed are over.

"By the first quarter of 2010, every check is going to be considered local. Right now, banks can put a 10- or 11-day hold on a check. All that will be erased," Anderson said.

The change in banking infrastructure makes sense when you look at the numbers. In 1995, the Fed processed about 50 billion checks a year. In 2006, that number dipped to less than 30 billion. Anderson predicts it will continue to dip until eventually checks go the way of paper ledgers.

"I would say it will happen within the next five years. I wouldn't be at all surprised if paper checks went away altogether," Anderson said.

Checking isn't the only area where technology changed our habits.